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Title 37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed ServicesRelease 119-110

§315 Special Pay: Engineering and Scientific Career Continuation Pay

Title 37 › CHAPTER 5 — SPECIAL AND INCENTIVE PAYS › SUBCHAPTER I — EXISTING SPECIAL PAY, INCENTIVE PAY, AND BONUS AUTHORITIES › § 315

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

It allows certain officers to get extra pay if they agree to stay on active duty doing engineering or scientific work that needs an engineering or science degree and that the Secretary says is a critical skill with too few officers. The Secretaries who can make that call are the Secretary of Defense (for the armed forces), the Secretary of Commerce (for NOAA), or the Secretary of Health and Human Services (for the Public Health Service). To qualify, an officer must receive basic pay, be below pay grade O‑7, have an accredited engineering or science degree, be certified by the Secretary as qualified, have done at least 3 but less than 19 years of such duty, and sign a written agreement to stay 1 to 4 years. If accepted, the officer may get up to $3,000 for each year (or part of a year) they agree to serve. The money can be paid all at once or in equal installments. If the officer leaves before the agreed time, they must repay according to section 303a(e).

Full Legal Text

Title 37, §315

Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this section, the term “engineering or scientific duty” means service performed by an officer—
(1)that requires an engineering or science degree; and
(2)that requires a skill designated (under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for the armed forces, by the Secretary of Commerce for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for the Public Health Service) as critical and as a skill in which there is a critical shortage of officers in the uniformed service concerned.
(b)Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, an officer of a uniformed service who—
(1)is entitled to basic pay;
(2)is below the pay grade of O–7;
(3)holds a degree in engineering or science from an accredited college or university;
(4)has been certified by the Secretary concerned as having the technical qualifications for detail to engineering or scientific duty;
(5)has completed at least three but less than nineteen years of engineering or scientific duty as an officer; and
(6)executes a written agreement to remain on active duty for detail to engineering or scientific duty for at least one year, but not more than four years;
may, upon acceptance of the written agreement by the Secretary concerned, be paid, in addition to all other compensation to which the officer is entitled, an amount not to exceed $3,000 multiplied by the number of years, or monthly fraction thereof, of obligated service to which the officer agrees under the agreement. The total amount payable may be paid in a lump sum or in equal periodic installments, as determined by the Secretary concerned.
(c)An officer who, having entered into a written agreement under subsection (b) and having received all or part of a bonus under this section, does not complete the period of active duty as specified in the agreement shall be subject to the repayment provisions of section 303a(e) of this title.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2006—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–163 amended subsec. (c) generally, substituting provisions referring to repayment provisions of section 303a(e) for specific provisions relating to refunds required when officer receives bonus but fails to complete agreed upon period of active duty. 1991—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–25 struck out “of this section” after “subsection (b)” in two places in par. (1) and struck out “of this subsection” after “paragraph (1)” in pars. (2) to (4) and after “paragraph (3)” in par. (2). 1987—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–26 inserted “the term” after “In this section,”. 1985—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99–145, § 637(a)(1), amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: “In this section, the term ‘engineering or scientific duty’ means service performed by an officer that requires an engineering or science degree and that requires a skill designated under

Regulations

prescribed by the Secretary of Defense as critical and as a skill in which there is a critical shortage of officers in the armed force concerned.” Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 99–145, § 637(a)(2), in provision preceding par. (1), substituted “prescribed by the Secretary concerned” for “prescribed by the Secretary of Defense” and “officer of a uniformed service” for “officer of an armed force”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1985 Amendment Pub. L. 99–145, title VI, § 637(b), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 649, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall take effect on October 1, 1985.”

Savings Provision

For

Savings Provision

relating to payment or repayment of any bonus, incentive pay, special pay, or similar pay obligated to be paid before Apr. 1, 2006, under a provision of this section amended by section 687(b) of Pub. L. 109–163, see section 687(f) of Pub. L. 109–163, set out as a note under section 510 of Title 10, Armed Forces.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

37 U.S.C. § 315

Title 37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110